The rain season finally has come to an end. After some heavy rains on the first days of April the weather seems to be clearing up so that this easter is full of sun! We have received our first guests which means the season has officially started.
The first three month of the year we not only rested and enjoyed the time off, we also prepared for 2012 to be sure to provide you with the best safari experience – as always! All was freshend up and a proper maintenance given to all important assets to ensure a smooth running. Our Kafunta family hasn’t changed much, let’s meet some of them:

Our Safari guides took our first guests to the park and coming back they announced: the roads are slowly drying up so every day we can venture further and of course all animals are still there….! Josephat, Martin and Andrew are already back at the lodge, our guide Able is still on leave and joins us again at the beginning of May. They are looking forward to an eventful season in the Luangwa Valley.

Lodge Management and Reservations: Anke, Mario and Wilson are certainly nearly irreplaceable! They are very hands on and you will meet them at the lodge.Mario as our lodge manager is always around, looks after you and makes sure all is running smoothly. Any problem you have, we are sure he will make a plan! Wilson is our man for reservations, flights and the whole back office. In Ankes office all is coming together. From marketing, finance, reservations and the future of Kafunta, she looks after all of it and more.

Bar and Waitering: Kenneth, Clement, Francis and Lennard work in the heart of our lodge. You will always meet one of them at the bar looking after you perfectly! In the evening they serve you our delicious food under the African stars. If you are in need of anything, they will know where find the right person for it!

It pays to know the chef(s)…. Cathie has joined us beginning of this year and with her and the excellent team of Irene, Shintu, Geoffry and Ruben you sure will enjoy some of the most amazing meals in the valley! Getting the right ingredients is always a challenge in the bush. It is fantastic how they perform magic with sometimes little ingredients. Any dietary requirements – they will do their best to meet them.

Housekeeping: In your room you find rest and peace and relaxation. All the more important that it is nice, tidy and you feel comfortable. Our housekeeping team with Christopher, Clement and George is taking care of that.

Gardening: You don’t always see them but you can be sure they are there! Adrian and Shupa sweep and tidy and water. So that no branches are in your way, pool furniture is out and fresh towels are ready for after your swim!

Maintenance and Workshop: Ron and Levy are the backbone of Kafunta! They take care of the workshop in the back, all the maintenance of the lodge and the workforce behind that. They ensure that all is in working order in the lodge and nothing and no-one gets stuck!

And of course the Cowan Family, head of the Kafunta Family! Anke, Ron and their son Luke, here with Mario. Luke you may see during his breaks. It is his last year of home schooling at Kafunta.

Any more questions? Come and meet us all in person! We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
We wish you all a Happy Easter and hope to see you very soon at Kafunta in the beautiful Luangwa Valley!

You Kafunta Safaris Team

Together with Project Luangwa we planned the days with lots of fun and educational activities, the kids could take turns being the guide, enjoyed the Lodge style meals and the swimming pool was the all time favourite!
For more pictures and details go to Project Luangwa’s website: http://www.projectluangwa.org/kidsinthewild

The rain stayed away for the whole of Christmas and we enjoyed great Safaris. On Christmas day we welcomed the guest back from the morning Safari with Champagne and snack and had a traditional Christmas lunch there after….a different Christmas.

For more information on the lions of the Mfuwe Area, read here Lions of Luangwa

Island Bush Camp has just like the valley changed subtly through the season. We started the season by changing the camp to be even more traditional and just a bit more comfortable but without compromising our truly traditional bush camp feel and with a wonderfully willing and enthusiastic team set about ensuring that guests were made to feel part of camp and not just visitors. Our guest comments book is a testament to how our guests have enjoyed our beautiful little camp and the experience of exploring the remote bush on walking safaris with our highly experienced and equally enthusiastic guides:

” Thank you for a wonderful experience at this paradise, Well run – excellent food – brilliant service, we felt very much at home.”

” Probably a sample of paradise.”

” A fantastic experience which we will never forget. The greatest three days , spectacular sun rise, spectacular sun sets and spectacular in between.”

Trough the season wildlife encounters have been interesting and exciting, our walking safaris have enthralled guests with insights in to the bush from smelling wild jasmine to tracking Lions, following the chattering call of  Honey guides or explaining the explaining multiple use’s of the plants and trees that grow here, our guides have conjured up some fascinating sightings. Often the wildlife has come to camp and through the year we have had almost nightly visits from Hyenas who’s antics although harmless to us humans would see items chewed or taken away altogether and so the first rule of camp became: No Binoculars or cameras to be left alone after dark !  Elephants also feature on the guest list with frequent visits much to the delight of our guests. The most extraordinary sighting in a season of extraordinary sightings occurred when as we sat in the sandy  below a colony of hundreds of Carmine bee eaters as the sun began to set  eleven Giraffe came down to  a steep bank to drink as they returned to the bush climbing steeply   one unlucky  giraffe slipped and fell backwards 3 mtrs vertically on to the sand where she lay unconscious for some time before eventually recovering, simply amazing.

As I am writing this article I can see clouds bubbling in the eastern sky which might herald rain, and this is our cue to begin thinking about getting ready to close camp for another rainy season. I hope you can join us next year to experience the real Zambia

But how exactly is the 3 ½ hours drive in the car?

Trying to answer this question, I jumped in the back of the car the other day to take the chance and see the bush camp-trip from a guests’ perspective. So I sat back and relaxed.

We started off at 7 in the morning. After ten minutes we had crossed the river, watching about 20 hippos bashing into the deeper part of their wet environment.

Shortly afterwards we followed small tracks leading towards Chichele hill and found a leopard dozing on a branch of one of the plentiful sausage trees in the area.

We left it there after some time and made our way to Zebra plain, passing hundreds of elephants on the way, including a few breeding herds with recently born babies.

Zebra Plain is about half way to the bush camp and, as the name suggests, is a big open plain with a wonderful view of the Nchindeni Hills behind, and usually full of Zebras and Pukus. Apart from those, we also observed an old giraffe bull making its graceful way from one acacia bush to the other.

Another half an hour further a small herd of buffaloes crossed our path, then, in the mopane forest, a martial eagle landed on a tree right next to us, not to mention dozens of impalas around every corner.

As soon as we crossed the Kapamba river, about 45 minutes away from our camp, another herd of elephants decided to stroll down for a drink.

From there on it’s a real bush track, impossible to find without one of our experienced guides. We crossed gullies, dry riverbeds and meandered around trees until we found ourselves on the vast open banks of the Luangwa River..and there..there on the other side it is. Another short boat crossing and you’re welcomed by our team with a cold drink. You have arrived at Island Bush camp!

But back to my question: how exactly was the drive?here’s the answer: magical.